By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
The wife and daughter of Michael “Mickey” O. Logsdon were back in Barren Circuit Court – albeit remotely in one instance – Monday, a few weeks earlier than had been scheduled.
Defense attorney John Olash appeared for the first time on behalf of Cheryl Leighanne Bennett, a daughter of Michael “Mickey” O. Logsdon, who died last summer after the machine he needed to breathe was unplugged, according to court documents. She and her mother, Donna Cheryl Logsdon, are are both facing a charge of murder in relation to the death. Additionally, Bennett already had charges of first-degree possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), third or greater offense; public intoxication from a controlled substance other than alcohol; and buying or possessing drug paraphernalia.
Both the mother and daughter had been out of jail on bond, but last week, for the second time this year, Bennett was arrested for violating the conditions of that bond, so she was attending court via the Zoom streaming service from the Barren County Detention Center.
Her new arrest on Friday and a bond-revocation motion from special prosecutor Kori Beck Bumgarner were the primary reason for her appearance. Bumgarner is the commonwealth’s attorney for Warren and Edmonson counties who was just assigned the case in September after the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General withdrew its staff members from that role.
First, though, on Monday the matter of representation for the defendants was addressed. The judge said he had received a notice of withdrawal from local defense attorney Johnny Bell, who, along with Martin Peterson, another local attorney, had been working for both Bennett and Logsdon. Alexander said he also had motions to appear. Bell was at the judge’s bench momentarily to confirm the withdrawal, and Olash took over from there and said a different attorney who was not present – Rob Eggert – would be representing Logsdon, whose case was also on the docket and who was present in person, but Alexander said that was essentially just because of the motions, and Logsdon was never actually called to the bench. Olash and Eggert are each based in Louisville in different firms.
Olash asked that a bond revocation hearing for Bennett take place Nov. 6, the date previously scheduled for Bennett’s and Logsdon’s next pretrial conferences, but Alexander said he tries to have those hearings on separate days from pretrial conferences, and the next round was set for Oct. 31. Bumgarner said she may not be able to make that date due to a trial she has in her normal jurisdiction.
With consent of the attorneys then, Alexander scheduled the bond revocation hearing for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 31, with the understanding that it may have to be postponed to 1 p.m. Nov. 6.
Postponement
Aaron Rodriguez, the Nashville man who is accused of fatally shooting Melissa Miller, 54, outside her Glasgow home in May 2021, was on the docket for later Monday, but Glasgow News 1 learned that his next pretrial conference had been rescheduled by agreement among attorneys for Nov. 6.
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